Page 4376 - Week 14 - Wednesday, 30 November 1994
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Trucks are not built to go in normal house driveways, and apparently there was some damage done to the fence. This gentleman says:
I believe I have rights in this issue.
I value good relations with all people especially my neighbours ...
Indeed, people do; but what do they do when they have this problem and it goes on month after month and, in some cases, year after year? It is not only a noise pollution problem, although the noise pollution problem is one that is marked. We all know that in the Small Claims Court there was a case where someone said that the neighbour was starting up a large truck in the morning and it was waking them up early. In this particular case the people were retired. There was a court order that the driver was not allowed to start the truck before 5.30 am. That is a very interesting time for those of us who do not get to sleep until 3.00 am or thereabouts.
It is interesting to look at what other noise you cannot make. You cannot run a power saw at night or in the early hours of the morning. You cannot run a chainsaw. You cannot run other heavy machinery. You can run a truck, but not the others. There are strict regulations under the Noise Control Act.
Mr Stefaniak: It is draconian in terms of motor sport.
MR STEVENSON: That is an interesting point. In daytime it is just five decibels above. There are even stronger limits between 10.00 pm and 7.00 am. It has to be just background noise. That is reasonable. I am sure that most people would agree with that. Seven o'clock is early enough. It is too early for some people, but that is okay; you have to compromise; you have to have a balance. I suggest that 5.30 am or 6.00 am is simply unreasonable, particularly in this day and age.
People complain about dogs barking loudly in the night or early in the morning. That is quite reasonable. It seems a lot easier to get something done about that and these other noises than it is about trucks, because trucks largely are exempt from these tight restrictions under the Noise Control Act. Also, large vehicles commonly drip oil, and sometimes they can be warmed up for a long time and there is a problem with diesel fumes and other gases that are emitted. When the truck is turned off at night-time the air-brakes make a considerable noise as they shut down. Another gentleman wrote in and talked about the clunking of the truck as it goes over the gutter and the noise caused by the motor warming up. He mentions being woken up at 11.30 pm, 12.20 am, and 5.45 am.
People have said, quite reasonably, "What is the solution?". I agree that some things are easier to solve than others. It would be easy to solve a lot of our problems in Canberra by abolishing this State-like Assembly. So, some are easier than others. When we come to trucks, what do we look at? Either you can operate them in residential areas or you cannot. It is obvious that, with a 40-foot truck, a 50 footer, a 60 footer, a double-axle job, whatever, there would be some restrictions. Basically, we are talking about the size of vehicles that should be allowed in residential areas. We are also talking about the times
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